Kill. Put to death. Extinguish. Eliminate. Be rid of. Repent. Turn away. Return no more. Mortify. Purge. These are not friendly words. In fact, these are things you would never even remotely consider doing to a loved one, or close friend. Why? Well, any of these terms would be a very harsh – even fatal – action to carry out against an individual. In fact, were you to conduct several of these, you would be legally liable for punishment by law. Wait for it – However, we are told to conduct this type of action against the sin in our life.
Why would we be told to conduct this sort of action against the sin in our lives? Well, according to the scriptures, the wages of sin is death; conducting in actions of sin is just like committing a crime deserving of capital punishment. Since all of us have faced this consequence since our birth and have been in need of a savior, what are we to do once we find this newfound redemption? Well, if one has been imprisoned for the duration of their life, it would only make sense for them to flee from the prison that once bound them. If this is the relationship we have with sin, why is it so hard to get rid of?
This also opens the floor for discussion of the feasibility and individual ability for us to truly eliminate sin from our lives. Can we? Can somebody break a habit they’ve spent many years developing? Was Christ a sinless individual because He didn’t sin, or because He couldn’t sin? Since He was fully G-d and fully man, was He subject to the same temptations we are? Yes, He was.
In addition, we have been commanded to live sinless and be perfect even as Christ was perfect. Common christians, and even pastors, will tell you that we are all “sinners” and cannot live up to the high standard of Holiness. However, John 1 tells us differently:
It is our new identity to no longer be considered as a “sinner” but as a child of the Good and Holy G-d Almighty. Think of it this way, Lebron James is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier…regardless of whether or not that was his past identity, loyalty, and passion.
Our prior – and maybe current – passions, loyalty, and identity may be found in sin, even if we consider ourselves to be Christians and saved by grace. How can grace save the person who chooses not to follow its path, but the path of sin in their lives? Grace is not a “Get out of Jail Free” card for us to use at our leisure. No, it is a vehicle we must enter and distance ourselves, with increasing distance every day, from the sin we used to partake in.
Put to death – we are commanded – the sin in our lives. Eliminate it! Kill it! Strangle it without mercy! End those relationships. Leave behind the temptation. Fight! Fight! Fight! Kill! I assure you, if you show mercy to your sin, it will not return the favor to you. Put to death the things that separate you from a Good and Holy G-d!
Thoughts?
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